Jimenez continues scoring streak & Lozano bags on Napoli debut in fine week for Mexicans in Europe

Jon Arnold

Jimenez continues scoring streak & Lozano bags on Napoli debut in fine week for Mexicans in Europe image

Two of the Mexico national team's brightest stars continued remarkable streaks this weekend in European action.

The timing was right, with El Tri's players now coming together in New Jersey for a camp ahead of Friday's friendly match against the United States.

First, it was Hirving Lozano coming on at halftime for Napoli and earning his debut with his new club. Fans of 'Chucky' may remember that he scored in his Pachuca debut and in his PSV debut. He made sure Italy was no different, adding the second goal of a furious rally for Napoli, which came back from three down only to lose 4-3 after a Kalidou Koulibaly own goal.

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Even so, Lozano playing as a second striker and getting behind Matthijs de Ligt to knock in a low cross will give El Tri fans plenty of positive vibes about the 24-year-old's new club situation.

A day later, Raul Jimenez sold out for a header, getting a swift kick to the face in the process. But it ended up being worth it for Raul, who scored for Wolves against Everton and extended his streak to a goal in the last four matches. On Thursday, he'd scored for Wolves against Torino, as the English side moved onto the Europa League group stage with the victory.

Edson Alvarez also moved on in European play this week, scoring for Ajax in his first-ever start with the Amsterdam club. He headed in the opener of a 2-0 victory over APOEL that put Ajax into the Champions League group stage. Alvarez also went all 90 minutes Sunday in a 4-1 romp past Sparta Rotterdam. 

His compatriot in the Netherlands, Erick Gutierrez, also enters the international break in a festive mood. 'Guti' started for PSV in its Europa League decider against another Cypriot side, with the team easily beating Apollon, 4-0. He started a 3-1 win over RKC Waalwijk but came out of the contest shortly after getting his name in the book.

Another Mexican is joining a La Liga club, with Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez wrapping up a transfer from West Ham United to Sevilla. The deal didn't come in time for him to take part in Los Rojiblancos' 1-1 draw with Celta de Vigo, in which El Tri center back Nestor Araujo started and played 76 minutes before making way for an attacking substitute.

Andres Guardado started for Real Betis as Sevilla's rival club stopped a losing skid. Los Verdiblancos topped Leganes, 2-1, with Guardado playing the full 90 in midfield. Concerns are raised for Mexico fans, however, with Diego Lainez not even making the squad. The teenager has played only 15 minutes so far, but the Liga season is young.

That's more than Hector Herrera, whose Atletico Madrid debut will have to come after the international break.

Jesus Corona, who could make his first appearance for Mexico under Tata Martino in this window, continues his spell as a very attacking fullback with Porto. The Dragons followed up a rivalry win over Benfica last week with a 3-0 beatdown of Vitoria Guimaraes.

Jon Arnold

Jon Arnold Photo

Jon Arnold covered the Mexico national team and Concacaf region in English for Goal until March 2020. His byline also has appeared in the Dallas Morning News, the New York Times Goal blog, FloFC and Pacific Standard. In addition to his written work, he serves as the Concacaf expert on the BBC's World Football Phone-In and has appeared on SiriusXMFC in English and Fox Deportes and Milenio in Spanish. Formerly based in Tijuana and currently living in Texas, Jon covered the 2018 World Cup, the 2015 Copa America, the 2016 Copa America Centenario and the last five Gold Cups.